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Monday, March 5, 2018

I'm sure, if you were here last Monday and Tuesday, you read that I was gone. I was in Webb City, MO (Missouri), a state just to the right of Kansas. I owned a house there until last Tuesday, when I signed papers to donate it to the Webb City Jr. High School.

I know you are going to ask why I did this. It's because I was tired of having to visit there every time a renter left the place in shambles. For most of the time, a rental agency kept it for me, but they charged me more money each month than I made on the property. They also charged me exorbitant fees to make any repairs, clean the place afterward, and mow the grass. I was losing money hand over fist, and decided to give it to the school. They were very grateful for the property, and I was THRILLED to get rid of it. I figure I no longer have to pay taxes, home owners insurance, and fees to a rental agency, so that is money in my pocket I can spend on art supplies. For the time being it will be used as extra classrooms.

While there, my dear friend Scott and I removed everything I wanted from the residence and garage that didn't affect the value of the property.

But since this is T day,

here is where we ate the first time we went to MO, which was about three months ago. Actually, the reason I never showed these photos on my blog during T time was because

it appears I failed to show a drink, although in looking over the images, there are coffee mugs in two photos. Scott had pork chops and eggs and I had two eggs and a waffle. We both had water to drink, since we had coffee in the car.

This time we decided to try a buffet, and when we did,

I found two cardinals

in the strip mall the buffet was in.

This is where my camera quit working, and I did everything I could to get it to work again. Scott tried to fix it, but couldn't, so I started eating. All of a sudden, I noticed the camera was on, so I quickly took a few shots

to make sure it was working properly. Sigh of relief!!!!!!! You can see both Scott and I chose water, and this time I have photos to prove it.

This is the vestibule of the restaurant.

Next, we were off to Missouri Southern, my undergrad alma mater. Since I don't really anticipate visiting Webb City (or Joplin, MO, where Missouri Southern is) anytime soon again, I took lots of photos of the University. You will probably get bored by this, but I always loved this campus because all the building are created in the same way: using brick and Carthage (a town just east of Webb City) limestone/marble. The company still operates today.

the largest gray marble quarry in the world. In fact, our bluish grey
tinted marble can still be found in Missouri's Capital building as well
as in many of the federal buildings across this country.

Also, according to their site, their company:

no longer produces marble; however, we still have a large inventory of
un-cut and cut stone. This is great for counter tops, flagging,
sculpting, and landscaping. In fact we have numerous customers coming
from all over the United States that use our marble in sculpting.

I wonder what Missouri Southern will use now that their limestone/marble is no longer available for their buildings.

Looks like they are celebrating this event because there were signs everywhere. About that time, the heavens opened and rain poured down.

My next stop was at the office where I would get my signature notarized.

Even their building had a cardinal on it.

We returned to the house one last time, where I intended to take photos. However, Scott got the vehicle stuck in the muddy soil in my back yard, so I gave up on that idea once he was unstuck. And of course it was still raining buckets, too. We decided to leave quickly before anything really bad happened.

On the way out of town, Scott turned north instead of south, and we ended up going past the high school.

I'm glad we did, because I got this shot as we were passing this banner.

A really out of focus shot, but I simply had to save it.

I also took this as we passed another strip mall. I cropped out most of the extra junk in the photo. Although I saw many more cardinals, including one that read "You Are Entering Cardinal Country," I didn't have my camera handy.

For those of you who may not be aware, I decorated my main floor bathroom with birds, mostly cardinals. If you want to see what it looked like at Christmas 2012, go here. It never changes much.

I got tired of trying to get my cardinals to stay in place in the windows, so have moved them to the window ledges. The photos from 2012 show them all still stuck to the windows.

These cardinals don't look angry,

like the ones in Webb City.

My apologies for such a long post today, but as I wrote on my calender, this is my Webb City swan song. Now it's your turn to share a drink related post. Your post may include
photos,
a place you visited, movies, postcards, books, teabags, sketches, mixed media,
drawings, paintings, tags, scrapbooking, or other art that is digital, hybrid, or traditional, as
long as it in some way relates back to a drink, any drink. Please share
your direct link below and Bleubeard and I, along with the rest of the T
gang will be by to visit.

how generous of you to donate your house to the school! and for sure a lot of memories visiting your alma mater... and for sure i would love to stitch this cardinal for my scroll - if we had any here! such a pity these beautiful birds are not living here.happy t-day, elizabeth!

It sounds like you have taken a good option for your house. I'm sure the school will really appreciate your generous gift. Renting out has many unforeseen issues no matter where you live, especially when folk don't respect the property. You have also shared some super photos which I hope will bring back some happy memories for you when you look at them in the future.The food you had on your trips away looks delicious.I mustn't forget to say that I loved the cross stitched Cardinal, they look beautiful birds.Happy T day wishes.Yvonne xx

I have not been to that area of Missouri-Isn't Joplin the city that was devastated with the tornado several years ago? at first I thought these cardinals were for the baseball team but I wee now it is for the high school I think they love their cardinals. that was good of you to donate your property, sometimes it is just better that way when you do not live near by. we went through that with our Illinois property we had it sold and then the economy crashed and they told us they would not buy it. that property was a headache for so many years we finally sold it so cheap just to be done with it. Glad you had a friend to go with-and that weekend there were so many flooded roads in Missouri too glad you got home safe Happy T Day

You had a bit of a nostalgic trip. Seeing places you haven't visited for a while. How generous of you to donate your house to the university. Renting out is a complicated business, especially when you are absent. We wanted to buy-to-rent when we left the UK. But when we did the sums, (like you found out)it wasn't worth is and might cost us more than we got in rent. So we bought this house we are living in now. I'm so glad we did it.I enjoyed looking at all the photos and reading about the marble.The waffle place looks very nice.It took me a while to realise that the Cardinals are probably a sports team. Let me guess: Baseball?I love your embroidered cardinals. Beautiful.Have a good week,Happy T-Day,Lisca

You know you have done the right thing - a good result all round! We have been reflecting on our site fees at the caravan and making plans for moving on ...not decided when yet...it was going to be the end of the year but now that the farmer has cut down the massive hedge we may make it for just another year!!The places you ate in look to me so reminiscent of the place see see in American films! I love the cross stitched cardinals - in fact love seeing anything with cardinals on!!! Big Hugs and Happy T day! Chrisxx

what a trip down memory lane and more! Regardless that your rental home was a bit of a burden, that was still such a generous thing for you to do for one of your alma maters. I love cardinals too, but the mascot does look a bit angry:) Thanks for sharing your road trip, your story, food , and cardinals. Happy T day!

Good for you for moving forward and donating your MO house. That is an exciting thing to do. I am sure the school really appreciates it. And very cool to see your undergrad school. Did you grow up in Missouri? It's so interesting to see different parts of the world and the country. I do like how your alma mater's buildings are not these big towers either! have a happy T day my friend and I want you to know I enjoyed your post today. Hugs-Erika

What a generous gift! Sounds like a fun trip down memory lane, looking at your school and seeing all the cardinals. You had camera problems, but at least had it with you! I just don't think of the camera unless it involves grandchildren or a vacation trip. Have a great Tuesday!

I really enjoyed your loooong post today Elizabeth. I'm still picking myself up off the floor that you donated a house... lol But after reading all your reasoning i can see why.. That was still very generous of you. LOVE seeing all the cardinals in your bathroom.. I love them too and have many many at my feeders right now.. They are such a bright spot in what is still a dreary landscape.. Happy happy T day dear host! And thank you for the wonderful comment on my reveal post. Hugs! deb

Well done Elizabeth - I can imagine that it isn't worth to deal with renters. My stepfather had the same problem with his big trailer in a trailerpark at a nice lake here in Austria and gifted it in the end to a young couple with kids ( they were over the moon)and he was happy to have got rid of it! More costs than he got money and always to look after the property!I love that you brought cardinal county into your bathroom! What a lovely decorated room!What a pitty that you got no photos of your house - I would have been interested how it looked like!HAPPY T-DAY!Now you can really relax after this exhausting trip!oxo Susi

It must be a relief to get rid of a property that was costing you more in dollars and worry to maintain. Very generous of you to donate the property, too. We saw a Waffle House on the the first trip to PA, but Himself wouldn't stop. Maybe next time. That breakfast looks really good. I loved seeing the cardinals around town( even if they are for a rival team.) Bet it was fun driving around trying to spot one. The cardinal accents in your bathroom are so pretty, especially the sun catchers. Have a Happy T Day

I had a friend years ago who rented out 2 of her properties. 1 in Florida and one in NC. After the last renter damaged the one in Florida so much, she decided to close down her business in NC and move to Florida to live in the house, and she said she's glad. It's really the pits that the house was costing you so much money, but your kind act will be greatly appreciated. It's been years since I visited a Waffle House, even though it's a 5 minute drive from my house. Love the cardinals, and have always loved the color red. Your decorations are quite lovely! That's the pits about getting stuck, but thank goodness he got out quickly. Hugs...and Happy T Day RO

That's quite an adventure! I'm pleased things worked out well for you and it is so kind of you to donate the house to the Webb City Jr. High School too. Great food choices and the Mexican food at the buffet looks yummy 😁. I hope you have caught up on your sleep and wishing you very a Happy T Day! J 😊

Congratulations on getting rid of that albatross in MO, Elizabeth. Hubby and I just did a similar thing. By coincidence our property was in MO too! We had a 3 acre lot in Lake of the Ozarks that depreciated in value, yet we had to pay property taxes and homeowners' fees year after year. Finally I convinced hubby that we should stop throwing good money after bad. Though we lost a lot of money, I felt great relief to be rid of it.

Elizabeth; haven't been to a waffle house in FOREVER; reminds me I needto think "breakfast" for dinner !!! I understand your reasoning for getting rid of your old home; it's still VERY generous of you to donate the home to the school...984 paws UP as da tabbies say ~~~~~ ☺☺♥♥

I've been out all day, so I was surprised to see me already linked when I came by. Thx! I've never owned rental property and didn't realize how much of a trial it could be. What a blessing your donation will be :) I love waffles, but I rarely eat them out. Yummy!

What a wonderful thing to do with your house. Sorry you had such problems with your rental. I think rental property is great for folks that are good at electrical, plumbing, etc., but for the rest of us it can be a real drain. That's got to be a load off your shoulders. Congrats.

This must have been a trip that was fun and a bit bittersweet. But yes, Rick is a landlord and I know too well what can happen. What a generous gesture to donate the house to the school. (and good tax deduction too!) Schools are in such financial straits these days, I know they'll be so grateful.

I didn't realize cardinals were a MO thing. When I was in MO several years ago I was getting Christmas decorations and they had a lot of cardinals, which I thought was just because of Christmas. But maybe they are double duty!

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